thumb|[[Overgrazing by livestock can lead to land degradation.]]Land degradation is a process where land becomes less healthy and productive due to a combination of human activities or natural conditions. The causes for land degradation are numerous and complex. with the United Nations estimating that the global economy could lose $23 trillion by 2050 through degradation.
Definition
As per the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment of 2005, land degradation is in defined as "the reduction or loss of the biological or economic productivity of drylands". A similar definition states that land degradation is the "degradation, impoverishment and long-term loss of ecosystem services".
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations described land degradation as "driven by human activities such as deforestation, overgrazing and unsustainable farming, refers to a persistent decline in land’s ability to sustain ecosystem functions and services. Its impacts range from subtle productivity losses to complete agricultural abandonment, reinforcing the urgent need for sustainable land management or restoration.
Scale
thumb|Estimated annual and average agricultural production losses due to land degradation by income group
According to the Special Report on Climate Change and Land of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2019: "About a quarter of the Earth's ice-free land area is subject to human-induced degradation (medium confidence). Soil erosion from agricultural fields is estimated to be currently 11 to 20 times (no-tillage) to more than 100 times (conventional tillage) higher than the soil formation rate (medium confidence)."
The United Nations estimated in 2014 that ~30% of land is degraded worldwide, and ~3.2 billion people reside in these degrading areas, giving a high rate of environmental pollution. Approximately 12 million hectares of productive land—which roughly equals the size of Greece—is degraded every year. This is due to the socio-economic exploitation of lands without proper planning for long-term sustainability.
In 2021, estimates claim that two thirds of Africa's productive land area are severely affected by land degradation. The Global Environment Facility suggested that 95% of soil can degrade by 2050.
In 2025 around 1.7 billion people live in areas experiencing sizeable degradation-induced crop yield losses. Middle-income countries are the most affected, accounting for nearly 1 billion people. In high-income countries, intensive input use sustains yields but masks degradation and increases environmental harm. The largest affected populations reside in Eastern and Southern Asia regions that have accumulated a substantial degradation debt and also have high population densities.
- pollution, often chemical, due to agricultural, industrial, mining or commercial activities;
- loss of arable land due to urban construction, road building, land conversion, agricultural expansion, etc.;
- artificial radioactivity, sometimes accidental;
- land-use constraints associated with armed conflicts.
Overall, more than 36 types of land degradation can be assessed. All are induced or aggravated by human activities, e.g. soil erosion, soil contamination, soil acidification, sheet erosion, silting, aridification, salinization, urbanization, etc.
A problem with defining land degradation is that what one group of people might view as degradation, others might view as a benefit or opportunity. For example, planting crops at a location with heavy rainfall and steep slopes would create scientific and environmental concern regarding the risk of soil erosion by water, yet farmers could view the location as a favourable one for high crop yields.]]
Land degradation is mainly derived by numerous, complex, and interrelated anthropogenic and/or natural proximate and underlying causes. This includes:
- Activities that lead to depletion of soil nutrients through poor farming practices such as exposure of naked soil after crop harvesting or deep plowing (areas with conventional tillage degrade 5-10 times faster than areas with no-till farming
- Pollution of soil as a result of littering, urbanization, mining, oil spills, pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers and animal waste.
- Climate change because it can "exacerbate land degradation, particularly in low-lying coastal areas, river deltas, drylands and in permafrost areas"
Significant land degradation from seawater inundation, particularly in river deltas and on low-lying islands, is a potential hazard that was identified in a 2007 IPCC report<!-- Link needs updating. -->.
As a result of sea-level rise from climate change, salinity levels can reach levels where agriculture becomes impossible in very low-lying areas.
In 2009 the European Investment Bank agreed to invest up to $45 million in the Land Degradation Neutrality Fund (LDN Fund). The Fund was initially capitalized at US$100 million and is expected to grow to US$300 million. land degradation is responding more directly to climate change as all types of erosion and SOM declines (soil focus) are increasing. Other land degradation pressures are also being caused by human pressures like managed ecosystems. These systems include human run croplands and pastures.
The results of land degradation are significant and complex. They include lower crop yields, less diverse ecosystems, more vulnerability to natural disasters like floods and droughts, people losing their homes, less food available, and economic problems. Degraded land also releases greenhouse gases, making climate change worse.
Further possible impacts include:
- A temporary or permanent decline in the productive capacity of the land. This can be seen through a loss of biomass, a loss of actual productivity or in potential productivity, or a loss or change in vegetative cover and soil nutrients.
- Loss of biodiversity: A loss of range of species or ecosystem complexity as a decline in the environmental quality.
- Increased vulnerability of the environment or people to destruction or crisis.
- Wars and conflicts. Degradation of soil is one of the factors which increase competition over agricultural land, and all except 3 conflicts inside states in Africa from the 1990s are linked to such competition.
- Environmental migration
Sensitivity and resilience
thumb|Serious land degradation in [[Nauru after the depletion of the phosphate cover through mining]]Sensitivity and resilience are measures of the vulnerability of a landscape to degradation. These two factors combine to explain the degree of vulnerability. Sensitivity is the degree to which a land system undergoes change due to natural forces, human intervention or a combination of both. Resilience is the ability of a landscape to absorb change, without significantly altering the relationship between the relative importance and numbers of individuals and species that compose the community. It also refers to the ability of the region to return to its original state after being changed in some way. The resilience of a landscape can be increased or decreased through human interaction based upon different methods of land-use management. Land that is degraded becomes less resilient than undegraded land, which can lead to even further degradation through shocks to the landscape.
Agriculture
By 2025 unsustainable farming and management practices led to the degradation of 996 Mha of agricultural lands; this accounts for over 60% of human-induced land degradation, which affects a total area of more than 1660 million hectares.
Public awareness and education
Increasing public awareness about the importance of land conservation, sustainable land management, and the consequences of land degradation is vital for fostering behavioral change and mobilizing support for action. Education, outreach campaigns, and knowledge-sharing platforms can empower individuals, communities, and stakeholders to adopt more sustainable practices and become stewards of the land.
See also
- Environmental impact of irrigation
- Land improvement
- Land reclamation
- Sustainable agriculture
- Economics of Land Degradation Initiative
- Population growth
- Tillage erosion